The present invention relates to Murphy beds (also known as wall beds) and, more particularly, to a printable, interchangeable, vertically-retractable, front cover system for Murphy beds.
Murphy beds typically utilize two types of pre-existing front cover systems to conceal a Murphy bed frame and mattress: bi-fold doors or front structural panels. Unfortunately, such cover systems are not designed to print on in order to provide a custom printed appearance. Additionally, due to their weight and bulk these covers are not simple to install or replace and often add strain to the Murphy bed's lifting device.
Current front cover systems do not provide a good surface to print on to achieve a unique printed appearance. Commonly, such front cover systems have a number of gaps, noticeable seams or uneven surfaces between door or panel sections; as a result, in order to customize them with printed imagery, one would have to contend with the lack of continuity of the printing surface. Moreover, if one were to apply a continuous fabric or seamless material to the panels of a panel style Murphy bed, one would have to consider that the panels, and thus the applied fabric or material, would often remain suspended horizontally when the Murphy bed frame is deployed, thus the materials would likely separate or sag over time.
Current front cover systems are cumbersome to work with due to their weight and bulk. Today, front cover systems do not vertically retract overhead into a compact lightweight unit independent of the Murphy bed frame to allow for simple installation and replacement and thus interchangeability. Moreover, they require many screws and/or hinges to attach/detach and they do not roll up or fold up into a convenient space saving package to be stored for use at a later time. In the case of the panel style front covers on panel style Murphy beds, they add stress to the Murphy bed's lifting mechanism because they are attached to the bed frame itself. In the case of bi-fold doors, they are bulky and may be in the way of the end user when the doors are partially open, for example when side cabinets do not allow the doors to swing completely back. They require additional available wall space to swing completely back against the side panels of the Murphy bed assembly. The weight and bulk of the existing front cover systems increase the difficulty and cost of handling, transporting, installing, removing and replacing. With these characteristics, current Murphy bed front covers are generally considered to be a permanent component of the Murphy bed assembly.
As can be seen, there is a need for a Murphy bed front cover system that is lightweight, printable, interchangeable, and vertically retractable.